My “Coffin” Business Class Seat On Delta Air Lines 767-300…

Hey Delta, let’s talk. You’ve got a great lounge product, delectable food, and a very respectable Delta One business class seat on the A330-900neo and A350-900. But business class on the 767-300? It’s time to say goodbye to these coffin seats.

Delta One 767-300: My First Impressions

I flew Delta Air Lines from New York to Los Angeles in business class, a route that is operated primarily by 767-300 aircraft (with the occasional 767-400). Delta has more 767-300s than any other widebody jet–40 of them–and while the carrier loves to advertise its Delta One Suites, the seats on the 767-300 are not nearly as spacious or comfortable.

Instead, they are fairly common Thompson Vantage seats and the padding was even recently updated to make it more plush. My problem wasn’t the padding, but how constrained the seat felt in the lie-flat position…it felt like I was in a coffin.

In the lie-flat mode, your feet can not even wiggle…

Bonus: I look like a corpse too…

And not to unfairly knock Delta, but it makes me question how it can call itself the most premium US carrier when a sizeable portion of its transcontinental and intercontinental fleet still features a seat that is not all that comfortable. Or a screen that is smaller than my hand…

Delta plans to keep this aircraft in service until 2030 and is unlikely to retrofit it further.

A first-world problem to be sure: I was thankful to fly in Delta One and enjoyed a very productive journey to Los Angeles with fast free Wi-Fi, but American Airlines and United Airlines offer better seats on their longhaul aircraft. In fact, I find United’s own coffin-like seats on some of its 777-200 aircraft to be significantly more comfortable than these Delta seats.

A bit about the flight.

The short ribs were delicious… beautifully presented, tender, and full of flavor. It was an excellent lunch and the sort of thing I would make at home or order in a restaurant (not the deviled eggs, though). Delta’s catering is consistently excellent.

But the service was not outstanding…it was rather abrupt and casual, and I did not sense friendliness or attentiveness…just going through the motions. One flight attendant seemed almost annoyed that I asked for a drink refill…I think I never should have had to ask in the first place.

I’ll offer a full flight of this flight in the days ahead…it left me disappointed, though the Delta One Lounges in JFK and LAX on either side of it more than made up for the coffin seat and lackluster service onboard.